The potential of entrepreneurship for unlocking youth-led livelihood development is a critical challenge in Ethiopia. Poor microfinance services and inadequate policies and strategies along with the low level of enforcement and poor infrastructure account as the major problem contributors to the low levels of entrepreneurship employment opportunities for the youth in Ethiopia. The youth Livelihood program at EDA has great alternative potential that could help to reduce the current youth unemployment rate in the country.

 

Offering credit facilities, business management skills, mentorship, and coaching services to young school dropout and undergraduate students enterprise operators and creation of the enabling environment (reinforcing of policies and strategies) for entrepreneurship are identified as the major contributors for entrepreneurship-related employment opportunities. EDA has been addressed over 14,500 unemployed youth with quality marketable business training in Ethiopia. According to the EDA report, 98 % of all trained youth successfully run their group and individual business activities in Amhara regional state and Addis Ababa.